PCB's decision to allow selector Sohail Tanvir to play in APL raises conflict of interest cries

Karachi: The decision of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to permit national junior chief selector Sohail Tanvir to play in an on-going T20 league in the United States has come under severe criticism, raising questions about conflict of interest.

Tanvir went to play in the American Premier League (APL) soon after announcing Pakistan youth squad for the ICC U19 World Cup.

A PCB official said Tanvir had got permission to play in the league at the time of his appointment as the national junior selector.

In Pakistan, the powerful positions of senior and junior chief selector and national selectors are paid jobs.

Tanvir is playing for the Premium Paks in the APL at the Moosa Stadium in Pearland, Texas, and the league is yet to get approval from the USA Cricket Council.

In a recent match against Premium Canadians, Tanvir scored 31 runs and took two wickets while conceding only 15 runs.

The whole episode has also brought senior chief selector Wahab Riaz into focus as he is set to play in next year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February and March.

This is in direct contrast to the case of Muhammad Hafeez.

Hafeez was playing in various T20 leagues even after retiring from international cricket and soon after becoming Director of the Pakistan team he had announced that he would only be focussing on his job.

The interesting part is that some time back the PCB had forced Inzamam ul Haq to resign as the chief selector over a conflict of interest issue.

Inzamam tendered his resignation after it emerged that he was a partner in a sports management company with Muhammad Rizwan and a well-known player agent, Talha Rehman.